Can Aromatherapy With Thyme Essential Oil Help People With COVID?

Can something as simple as smelling thyme essential oil help people hospitalized with COVID?

This open-label study included 140 people who were hospitalized for COVID. They all received conventional treatment, but half of them added thyme essential oil aromatherapy. 2mL of essential oil was applied to a cotton wick inside an inhaler stick. People in the aromatherapy group closed one nostril and inhaled 8 times through the other, 3 times a day for 5 days.

The thyme aromatherapy group improved significantly more, especially in shortness of breath (dyspnea), cough, secretions and fatigue. They also improved significantly more in musculoskeletal pain, headache, dizziness, diarrhea and appetite loss.

In addition to improvements in symptoms, there was also significantly greater improvement in vital signs in the aromatherapy group, including temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, oxygen saturation and respiratory rate.

This study suggests that simply adding thyme aromatherapy to treatment can benefit people with COVID.
Though the result is exciting, caution is needed, since the study was not double-blind.

Explore (NY). July-August 2024;20(4):544-553.